“We didn’t have it so bad. We’d heard a lot of horror stories from other bands about how horrible and chaotic it is. We probably had about one show each day and the rest of the day was mostly promos and interviews. So while we were moving around a lot, we didn’t have the issue of multiple shows each day which means trying to pull your gear around town, through the streets,” admits Margin, reached on the phone during a bit of downtime before an upcoming tour.
If Margin and The Rubens got lucky regarding their schedule during SXSW, that’s about as much luck as they’d like to get credited for. Though the band has enjoyed a fruitful few years since they began in 2011, they’re fully committed not only to moving forward, but working at their craft. Very, very hard.
“Obviously if you want people to become interested in your band and interested in your record you can’t just play a couple shows and then never play again. We’ve worked really hard in Australia to make sure people get to hear our music, and it’s no different elsewhere,” admits the incredibly honest and forthright Margin, one of three brothers in The Rubens.
Margin speaks with the kind of poise and clarity that it takes many bands of a similar age years to attain. Yet it would appear that The Rubens, still touring off the strength of their self-titled 2012 debut full-length, aren’t ready to take any of the success they’ve been afforded for granted.
Early 2013 saw the band engage in a full-scale tour of Europe and stops in New York City and Los Angeles in addition to the aforementioned trip to Austin for SXSW. As Margin attests, touring with a relentless approach is necessary for the band. Not because it’s the only way to be considered successful, but because, in 2013, Margin believes it’s important to ensure The Rubens is simply more than just an online entity.
“You have to work hard to see the people and make sure they see you and make sure they understand you’re an actual band,” maintains Margin. “So often you’re nothing but a few songs on iTunes and just a photo on Facebook to your fans. They have to see you live to get the whole experience. If a band didn’t tour, I’d wonder how they could be successful. Well, all I know is that we want to play as many shows as possible.”
So then, with an ambitious mentality and admitting that the next time they head overseas The Rubens “…want to spend a lot more time in a lot of different places,” does Elliott Margin believe only after touring abroad will they be considered a success?
“I don’t know about necessary, but we do enjoy it very much. There’s only so much we can tour Australia before people get sick of you,” Margin admits.
The idea of people getting sick of The Rubens is one that Margin admits to being possible, but once we get on the topic, I begin to prod him on the idea of people getting sick of each other. Specifically, if the three brothers in The Rubens, Zaac, Sam and Elliott have gotten sick of each other during the touring they’ve done in cramped quarters.
“We’ve been talking about it a lot though, we’re wondering if someone’s going to crack sometime soon though,” chuckles Margin. “It almost seems like we’re in the honeymoon phase right now.”
Pressed further, Margin believes that once the “Honeymoon phase” ends, the band will still be able to maintain a constant civility within its members.
“I think [being a band largely comprised of siblings] is definitely advantage. Believe it or not, we never fight. I know when bands go out on tour there’s a lot of fighting, but because we’ve been living together our whole lives, we don’t fight very much, if at all. We already know what makes each other tick. Nothing’s that unusual for us, we’re just living together on the other side of the world sometimes.”
BY JOSHUA KLOKE
